Though I am not as good as I'd like to be at keeping up with this blog—and not as good as Google would like me to be, according to my rankings--many people have nevertheless managed to find my posts over the years. Most recently, I heard from my cousin Rena, whom I'd been trying to locate for years. Those marital name changes wreak havoc on genealogy. She commented: I
Vienna
My Father’s Great Escape: A Few Answers, Far More Questions
When I talk about my parents' forced departure from Vienna, I generally focus on the tragic outcome: the death of almost all their immediate family members, except for my father's brother, Fritz. On this Father's Day, I'd like to focus on the bravery -- combined with what must have been ingenuity and a bit of luck -- that got Paul Jarolim to America from Nazi-occupied
Survival in Vienna: My Badass Cousin Bruno
Here's another long-time-coming post from my blog archive, this one dating back to July when my cousin Andreas Oberndorfer first discovered this blog and contacted me. I wrote about Andreas's fascinating past, the missing links in his family -- and mine -- in the post Redheads, Resisters, & Red Light Districts, 1: Valerie Oberndorfer-Kornmehl. I have many excuses,
Redheads, Resistors & Red Light Districts, 1: Valerie Oberndorfer-Kornmehl
Freud's Butcher is the gift that keeps on giving. Just when I think I'm about finished with the story of my maternal grandparents' family, another member turns up. This time it is Andreas Oberndorfer, grandson of Valerie Oberndorfer-Kornmehl and nephew of my second cousin once removed, Bruno Oberndorfer-Kornmehl. My newfound Viennese relative appeared out of the blue.
Dayenu: A Kornmehl Reunion in Vienna
Dayenu: It would have been enough. That phrase, repeated as a refrain in a Passover song that offers a litany of thanks for blessings piled upon blessings, has been going through my head sporadically since last October, when I gave a talk at the Freud Museum in Vienna. It's been an amazing journey, albeit one that's taken a rather meandering, bumpy path, from the inception of
Freud’s World & A London Reunion
There's been a lot going on behind the scenes in the Freud's Butcher universe, but it's like the proverbial tree falling in the forest: If a blogger doesn't post about events, did they really happen? They did, and they will--and here's the proof. Psychology Today I've made many forays into discussions of Freud's life -- in order to provide context for my family's
Opening Up to Elijah: A Passover Story
Call me a seder skeptic. I'm fond of the Passover story, its message of exile and redemption. I especially like the ritual of saving a place at the table and a glass of wine for the prophet Elijah. Like Santa Claus, he is required to visit millions of homes in a single night. Opening the door for him to come in after the seder meal is a simple act of faith that often gives
Of Genealogies and Possibilities: A New Year’s Musing
Happy 2015. It's that time of year when all the possibilities seem to open up. January 1 is an arbitrary date, of course, but who doesn't want to believe in fresh starts, in learning from our experiences, even if those experiences sometimes seem arbitrary too? I ended last year on a sad note, with the accidental death of a friend, Jean, who had become very important to me
Fleischhauers, Freud & Pez: Vienna’s Famed Berggasse
I was in Vienna's Jewish Records Office last week -- was it really only last week? -- looking to fill in some key bits of my family history. When archivist Irma Wulz showed me the marriage records of my grandparents, Hermann Rosenbaum and Ernestine Kornmehl, I wasn't especially surprised to learn that the wedding witnesses had been David Schmerling,
Inspiring My Vienna Visit: A Talk About Freud & Oscar Nemon
Several people have asked: What finally spurred you to visit Vienna this June? Good question. I've been wanting to go for more than 2½ years, ever since I found out about the connection between my great uncle, Siegmund Kornmehl, and Vienna's Sigmund Freud Museum, but had been dragging my heels. Money, ambivalence, pet care...I always had an excuse not to go. With the need
Return to Vienna: Must the Past Be Prologue?
I'm going to Vienna in June. After writing about the city of my parents' birth for the past two years, I'm finally taking the plunge. I'm looking forward to the trip. I'm also dreading it. I was there only once before, in the early 1970s, at the request of my parents. While I was planning a trip to Europe with a college friend, Andrea, they asked me to visit the relatives
Dr. Kornmehl, Prof. Freud & Jewish Activism
It's been interesting to speculate about Viktor Kornmehl and his brushes with the other, more famous doctors of Vienna. As Anna Redsand wrote in her wonderful guest post, there's a very strong likelihood that he was acquainted with Viktor Frankl in high school: It was a small institution and they were there at the same time. It's possible too that they bonded because both were
Trees, Virtual and Real
I can barely focus today. There's a very good chance that both the son and grandson of Ezriel Kornmehl, the first subject of this family history writing challenge, have been located. If the information turns out to be correct, Ezriel's son just celebrated his 90th birthday in Chicago, while his grandson is living and working in New York. Both are doctors, like their
In Praise of Meandering
I spent yesterday morning in a research haze. It often happens when I work on posts about my family. I start with one bit of information that needs clarification and follow it as my interests take me until I realize I've gone far from my original search and that I'd better get back to work, either on the blog post or on the writing that pays the bills. Usually I just close
2013 Goals for Writing My Family History, I
New Year's resolutions can set you up to fail if they're too numerous and too vague. I've learned to go for simple and specific. One year my only resolution was to floss every day. I could -- and did -- stick to that. This year, I'm working on a large, unwieldy project that doesn't have any structure except the one I decide to impose on it: writing my family history. Since